16-year-old Abilene Marigold Matterly spends summer 1992 escaping her chaotic home life by sneaking out at night to wander Holden, South Carolina with her best and only friend, Julien. That summer, they have each other and not much else.

As summer winds down, a family tragedy reveals Abilene's past is nothing but a myth. The truth sends Abilene searching for her father, a U.S. Army Soldier, even though running to him means leaving Julien behind. As that summer fades from their memories and they start anew without each other, they drift apart. Their rift only deepens when Abilene falls in love with a young soldier and Julien battles for survival in an abusive home.

Years later, Abilene is a young Army wife and mother determined to make her marriage work, a marriage filled with physical passion and not much else. When Julien enlists in the Army and walks back into her life, she's surprised by how much their connection and that summer friendship meant to her, then and now. As they navigate being back in each other's lives, Abilene begins to question if the stability she has with a husband who takes care of her is enough or if that summer with Julien was what love is supposed to be.